I have a 4K projector and a 138” screen in my basement.
What are the pros and cons of using this for MSFS?
Pro: Large screen?
I’m working on a 210° surround screen with 3 projectors, really hope MSFS will support larger FOV soon.
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Getting so entranced in the game that you start to think you really are an Airline pilot ;p
Do other games look good on your projector, or havent you tried it yet. Only way to know for sure
is to hook it up and see.
Ive played fs’s on 5 crts, 5 flat panels they have there upsides and downsides never a projector though.
I sim on a room where my big TV is and I’ve also thought about what to do with it to enhance my immersion. The simplest thing is to mirror or stream your FS2020 view.
I have a second computer connected to it, it would be great If I could have another viewpoint, i.e., a second connected sim (I own P3D and FSX:SE). I am sure something can be done with SimConnect or VATSIM in obs mode.
External view, a detailed map or radar … that would be nice!
Connecting it as an additional monitor doesn’t work with FS2020 because the sim doesn’t support (hopefully yet) multiple viewports, and even if - it would kill fps on your main screen.
Well, i’ve been using a HD projector for years for racing, with a 126" picture projected on the wall. When my first one failed due to bad ventilation (which caused the bulb to heat up too much and made bulbs last no longer than 1200 hrs, whereas on eco it wouldhave lasted 3600hrs) and eventually caused the 3d/mirror-system (Epson) to slowly deteriote the colours, i still bought a new one.
I love gaming on it, after first experimenting with the projector in racing, i shifted my racingseat to the side and i put down the beanbag, the flightcontrols on either end, and gamed with it for quite a while. But that was in FSX… i was more into online racing at the time and with a projector, you can definately see the curbstones better and the whole experience genuinly sucks you in within just a handfull of laps. I’d imagine, with a 4K projector, with that much more screensurface, you’d definately feel like a little boy, trying to watch over the dashboard that first time you were on daddy’s lap “driving the car”.
You’d definately have to play with the field of view a bit with that 138" surface.
Here was my setup for flying back in 2010 
Pro: very immersive gaming due to your eyes not knowing where to look first and giggling like a little kid on takeoff
Con: Bulb life could become an issue, but manufacturers might have fixed the cooling in the mean time, yet i guess a 4k projector would generate more heat? Dont know, not an expert. The advisory on my new (smaller, less advanced) projector WAS, do not use for more than 1,5-2hrs in a row… If you are immersed completely, your flighttiime will definately exceed those hours in one sitting. But, like i said, this new one now has more hours on one bulb than the previous one did on 3 different bulbs… and those bulbs are EXPENSIVE=con.
Another con would be the field of view. At first you will be blown away, then you are going to get nitty gritty about what exactly you want to see in the sim. Do you want to look at a big arssed dash, that’s bigger than it is in real life, and move your head up to watch the ceiling-part of your screen to see where you are going? (that IS an issue when yer on a screen that big) or are you constantly adjusting the seat (ingame) to get the nice view and just ignore the instruments, until you change to a different aircraft. Once you’ve dailed it into your likings, its still going to be a joy to explore the world. Which brings me to the next Con:
Your view of the world. Con: If yer on 4K, you will constantly be reminded that current technology isn’t finished just yet, buildings will show their true pixels as you fly by them at a 138" screen… implemented 3d buildings from the bing map data, might have you thinking of setting the resolution lower, as you will be able to see EVERY little bit of detail that is wrong/misshaped as a large shape on your screen, whereas on a smaller screen you wouldnn’t note it as obvious.
But that’s more cons or “things to think of” before getting a 4K projector. (oh wait, you’ve alsready got one, what are you waiting for?! hahahah) Bigger isn’t always better, but it’s definately nicer if you can afford it. Also btw, note the distance you are sitting away from the screen. At 138", i guess your projector sits about 4-5 meters from the screen? and you are sitting somewhere in between?
pro: you’ll love it
pro: You’ll adore it
pro with con: Once you’ve started you’ll not want to go back to any smaller screen for gaming.
Tip: try GTAV on it, just sitting in the middle, controller in hand… and explore the city. It’s just awsome to be able to have a projector for gaming.
Also, make sure you have grade A cabling from your computer to the projector.
I’ve had mine sit in the opposite corner from my computer, on a cubboard with a 12 meter HDMi cable that wasn’t upto snuff…so upgraded to expensive ones, and they worked out. It’s better to have the projector sitting in the middle of the room, preferably from the ceiling (a nogo here as my ceiling is rebarbed concrete) to get the most out of the quality throughout the screen. MY first projector had manual throw shift, so i could shift the throw from the back left of my room, over 5 meters onto the centre of the wall… my second one (also Epson) has electronic lens shift, and it’s not the best… not everything crisp in the corners, but this ■■■■■■ was about 400 euro’s cheaper, mind you, for the same HD quality.
but to actually answer the question of: “using this 4K 138” for MSFS?"
I give it a mighty: HELL YEAH, DO IT!
Oh, and welcome to the community!
Regards,
Steiny
ps: i might just give it a go once my obutto arrives next month
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Having owned 3 projectors (2 x BenQ GP1 @80" and One W700 @120", all LED projectors) and have used two of them for wide-multiscreen gaming (ATI Eyefinity), i know projector gaming is awesome but also comes with some problems:
- Lamp, obviously. Burns out. Last i had the W700 on Economode and got 6000 hours from it. Dark but not optimal for gaming, buy pretty cool to watch movies.
- Screen refresh frequency, can be limited. Don’t know what yours is, but worth noting.
- It makes noise and can take a while to start up. But you probably already know this.
I changed lamp a couple of times (5-6) @ €150 increasing to over €200 the last time, i used it every hour, every day that i was awake. Eventually when i moved the last time i stopped using a projector and got one 55" TV for movies and one 45" for gaming which i use up close, total of around €800, and both of them will probably still work in 10 years which means a net save of €1400 from not buying LED lamps, money I’ll be able to spend on VR or whatever.
I have built a simulator with a wrap around screen using multiple projectors there are a lot of factors to consider in manipulating the screens to fit. Doing one projector isn’t nearly as complicated but there are still factors to consider. For instance unless your wall is perfectly free of imperfections I would get a screen. If you can afford a projector and change out bulbs you can afford a drop down screen or fit poster board together. Also adjusting the projector to the perfect distance as to avoid lens distortion etc. You may not want to consider these things or get this picky but if you want to seriously fly using this thing those little details start to matter later on.
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If you gone to the extent of a screen that size to get as much immersion as you can why not vr. I used vr on xplane and voice attack similar plug in, and was blown away, but each to their own, but this is down to personal preference and money at the end of the day.
Pros : big screen and you get to spend alot of time in the basement .
Cons : You’re parents would like you to move out of their basement.
Try it !!! Its your projector and your basement…
Lets us know how it works for you.
I own a rather complicated projector setup. (DIY polarized dual-projector for 3D Stereoscopic gaming)
I do not use it for Flight Simulator
Projectors have one huge pro :
- Screen size.
Unless you have 30k to waste, projectors are the only way to get screen sizes of 100+ inches at an affordable price.
Cons are many :
-
Couch ergonomics : unless you have made a dedicated simulator room, your projector is installed in the living room.That means you’re not sitting in a solid chair at a desk : you’re sitting down in a couch.
For most games playable with a game pad that’s perfectly fine (it’s like console gaming, but with better graphics). But for a complex application like FS with big joysticks and/or yokes, rudders, and many interactions with the mouse/keyboard. That’s a big ergonomics problem.
Don’t even hope playing on a low height living room table : you’ll break your back.
You have to find some sort of ergonomic adaptation which will be big enough and stable enough to hold your controllers and mouse, and be easily removable for when you want to use your living room / cinema room as originally intended.
My recommendation : use a tray. And if you intend to try and play more : get a dedicated XXL bed tray for computers (not the 1st one you get on amazon, scroll through the pages to find the real big ones). Regular food trays have a thick lip around the edge (to keep the food and liquid spill inside), but when using a mouse/keyboard on those trays, the lip will be a pain. -
Playing in the dark : projectors don’t like ambient light. So you’ll be in a room as dark as possible.
This means when you display a dark scene on the screen you’ll see absolutely nothing in the room : there will be no ambient light. (unless you build custom lighting in you room specifically for this)
I bought a Logitech K800 just for that issue : it was the only wireless backlit keyboard I could find at the time. (“enjoy” the logistics of remembering to plug it every evening to recharge the batteries)
This also means no paper charts, no scribbling notes on pieces of paper. Anything you use will have to be on a tablet, or a phone. -
The “joys” of alt-tabbing on a projector : if you do not have an army of tablets to use as a secondary display, then you’ll do the only thing a single screen user can do : alt-tabbing.
You"ll discover the pleasure of rapidly switching between natural scenes (the simulator) and Web pages / charts information (absolute contrast with pure black/pure white information).
You don’t think about it when using a monitor with ambient lighting but it’s truly blinding on a projector.
Just to get an idea : turn all the lights off, set your monitor at max brightness, and try alt-tabbing between FS and a google search for jeppesen charts, you’ll see what I mean
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Thanks everyone for your answers! I’m encouraged.
Here is my setup, a little background and why I asked.
I have a ceiling mounted Epson projector and everything is run through a Denon 9.1 receiver. I built the screen myself and i have one row of theatre seats which are about 11’ in front of the screen. The room is dark, blacker than the inside of a bruised crow. 
I have only used this setup for TV and movies (no games).
I see a lot of people have setups with curved screens or 3 screens and I need to know in advance if one big flat screen will work (and be awesome) because there’ll be a lot of work and expense for me to try and set things up properly.
I have just enough room behind the seating to build an elevated platform that would normally be used for a second row of seating. On that I could put a desk and chair and some flight hardware so I can start flying.
A big issue I will have is that I need to buy a new gaming computer but I need to keep it in my office (above the theatre) so I can use it for other things. I can’t afford a new computer just for gaming. I’d then need to run an expensive HDMI cable to the receiver in the basement and then a number of long USB cables to the flight peripherals.
First of all, I’m just guessing that this setup would work. Any advice there would be greatly appreciated. And so with all this work ahead I’m hoping the big screen will do the trick.
I want to see the world and fly to some exotic places since we’re stuck at home these days!
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Well i use 3 optoma gt1080 darbee projectors with a 270 deg fov curved screen.
From Simpits in NZ see below video
Very similar to whats hown on the video but that one is just 220 deg fov
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VR and large projection screens offer totally different experiences IMHO.
The fact that a well setup projection system lets you still see your real environment (and real controls, buttons, switches etc) takes things to a totally different level.
VR offers a much cheaper way to get a fuller immersion and offers 3D / depth of field that is much harder (currently pretty much impossible) to replicate with projection.
Having access to both, I still take the projector every time, but enjoy what VR gives too.
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